Her Many Expressions
by Shuushoku
Summary: "You guys will come back, right? You won't die right?" She asked. A wave. Another last wave. And they never came back.
1. Prologue : Two years later

Rewriting of: Her Many Expressions.

I got a little annoyed with the way Melissa turned out to be, so I decided to rewrite the whole story completely (sorry about that). I wanted to prove the relation between Melissa and the Elric Brothers (and Winry) to make it easier to understand a part of her personality that I want to show for later on.

Please support this by reviewing...Please?

Don't own Full Metal Alchemist.

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**Prologue**

_**'Do you love him?'**_

Everything else was silent in the living room, except for the creaking of the wooden floor and the clicking of heels.

Joyful baby-blue eyes wandered over on the photo album placed on a counter. From where Winry was standing she could see two pictures glued on each side of the album.

With small steps, in an attempt to respect the silence the best she can, Winry walked over towards it and analyzed the pictures. Glancing at the first one, she recognized herself and her grandmother, Pinako.

The second picture had a child with boyish-cut hair and dark green eyes. Beside them was one other child with short messy auburn hair and matching eyes.

_Of course I do'. A smile._

A frown formed on Winry's pale lips as she tucked her one of her long sunny-blonde bangs behind her ear. How old were these pictures? Below each of the pictures, written in messy handwriting, were details that answered mostly Winry's question. Pictures that Winry didn't remember the time,even if she's seen them so many times.

'We really did look happy,didn't we Win?'

His amber eyes.

His golden-blond hair.

His smile.

_Edward. Where in the world are you? I miss you so much. Everyone does._

The boy, who was so close, yet so far to her in many ways, was gone.

The sound of creaking wood from upstairs interrupted her thoughts.

Winry closed the photo album and closed her eyes before reopening them slowly and allowing a small,but graceful smile to appear on her lips. Her head turned towards the stairs, where a familiar figure descended slowly.

"Good Morning, Winry." The voice of the figure, a young woman was terribly hoarse. The woman cleared her throat a little before apologizing in a clearer and more normal tone. "Sorry about that. How long have you been up?"

_**He loves you just as much as we do.**_

The young woman had slight oriental features etched on her face. She had long dark hair in messy state which she ran a hand through and bright grass-green eyes that were now studying Winry's form.

Winry's smile widened. "Oh, Good Morning to you too, Melissa. I've been up a few minutes ago."

"Really? But you're all dressed-"

"I have a client coming in half an hour." Winry had cut her off and walked over to where messy blueprints were spread around on the dining table,separating them.

Silence reigned again. Just like it was everyday. Even with her reappearance,the atmosphere in the house became colder than it usually was when she came over. Pinako was in the kitchen; She would shout at them one minute or another,now that Melissa was awake.

"...Are you still mad? Listen,I'm sorry-"

Winry had cut her off again with a wave of her hand."I keep telling you. DON'T worry about it. Why would I blame you?"

_And I may hate you just as much._

They haven't expected their life turning out like this.

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**A/N**: Don't you guys worry (for the umpteenth time) this isn't a Ed Winry story, even if it seems like it. There might be a little rivalry in the later chapters, but nothing terrible like fights or all that other stuff you see in love triangles.

Review?


	2. Her Tired Look

Oh, -blink- wow. I got around **50** visitors for this story and around **30** for my other fic. ^_^ Thank you guys for being interested in my stories...even if they are a little short (for the moment, don't worry). I was worried that my stories were a bit empty and not well-explained enough, but if you readers see anything you don't like, or have any reader critics, please PM me...

Or send a review...? I'm ready to offer a one-shot on what you like.

**I do not own Full Metal Alchemist**.

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_Her grey-blue eyes flickered over to the figure approaching them. It was a man,covered with dirt from head to toe. A small nervous smile crossed his face before installing himself next to her._

_'General Cortesse,how come you're so tranquil?' one asked. Days and months few by,while the question always remained the same._

'The better to face what comes next,Dear.' _Was her answer. Having a woman around men's quarters was sure to make many uneasy. But her presence was naturally intimidating for them._

_She did her job without a word. She acted so normal,compared to the traumatized soldiers. Something must have cracked in her mind. Without a surprise,she had became one of the main discussions around there._

_Karin Cortesse was one of the state alchemists in the Ishbal civil war. A quiet,but very useful scientist that was always around the Crystal alchemist. She held very important information about the researches they did over there...But she slipped from our hands. Some say she was killed. Others say she left the country with her husband and kids._

_But what we have now,can help us keep track of time._

**-Edward- **

A long yawn came out of my mouth. Being in the train for so long is getting me annoyed. I was finding it harder to think about other things.

Thankfully,Second by second,the gears in my brain started to function once more. The details on what I was thinking earlier: What are we going to do after arriving at our destination? Going to a city in the middle of the desert wasn't the best mission,but we had to search everywhere.

My brows furrowed in thought.

Would anyone over there have an idea about what we'll be searching? I doubt it, Mustang hasn't informed us of any possible alchemists. Doing a bit of searching might waste time,but we might have results.

Three years of doing this can be exasperating,but Al and I are not giving up.

I unconsciously crumpled the paper I had read earlier just by looking at _her_. The words that were written on the letter were already printed in my mind.

**Full Metal,**

**I'm entrusting you Melissa since I have little time to listen to her commander's antics. Show her how we go by the ropes. Don't let her die or I'll be killed myself.**

**P.S: You still owe me 2500 cenz.**

**Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang.**

Only one word could come out of this letter: **Bastard**. I will get my revenge.

A snort from the figure in front of me cut through the silence(was that a ironic response?).

Ever since she fell asleep I almost forgotten about her existence. It's almost as if she was the background herself.

The way Melissa slept made it look as if she was dead. No drooling,no mutters,and no movements. Was that how a girl slept?

_Very_ freaky. How can she be comfortable sleeping like that? _Odd_. Even when she knows she won't be getting away that easily.

"Would you stop looking at her? Geez,you're staring at her. Again." Al cut the silence with his unnecessary comment. I scrunched up my face in disgust,having a clear idea behind his words.

Why would I be interested in her? She didn't have anything to do with our plans.

"But she won't wake up." was my excuse. As a way to amuse myself, I moved across the distance between our train seats.

Melissa had a whole seat to herself where she was in a position that seemed as if she was awake,except for the fact her head was barely touching the window. A flesh finger of mine poked her cheek.

No response.

Her head only turned a little,letting her front bangs fully cover her eyes. The small sound of her head bumping the window resonated throughout the silence.

I grinned.

I couldn't wait until she found out we're going to Lior. Of course,bringing extra baggage was going to slow us down somehow,but I wasn't allowed to leave her in the train(says Al). Ever since she popped up out of nowhere and ate my remaining dango,my mind is now stuck on commenting the way she sleeps,leaving me with a now empty stomach.

"Was bringing her along so important? Why was Colonel insisting on the fact?" Alphonse changed the subject,turning a page on the book he was reading.

And know he asks?

I sat back down next to him,my interest going to the changing scenery at the window. "Have you seen what she was carrying? Stacks of photos of Hughes's daughter and copies of letters that Mustang failed to receive that speak of the Hughes' family."

Al let out a chuckle. "Being his subordinate must be very interesting." I let out a another yawn before Al spoke up again. "Nii-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we'll get it this time?"

I scoffed."Who do think we are,Al?" Getting the Philosopher's stone was our main priority for the mission to Lior. After three years,we might finally get it.

With or without obstacles.

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**A/N: **Hum, I'm not very fond of this chapter, probably because it's in Edward's POV (I'll be rarely using that) and the introduction of Melissa sucks. The upcoming chapter will be longer than this one and the previous one, so for the moment, please review! It gives love~ :P


	3. Her Surprised Look

Well, this will be the first chapter in the original point of view I wanted to get out: Melissa's POV. I added a small description of how she looked like, but if you want more details, you can check out what I've written in my profile about her.

Unfortunately, this chapter isn't as long as I wanted it to be, so I'm making a goal of having at least 2,000 words per chapter...If I can make it.

The Japan EXPO ! _ Oh my god! One more week left till the 11th impact! I'm SO getting a autograph of Hiro Mashima of FairyTail!

Ahem, **I do not own** Full Metal Alchemist. If I did, Ed would of been married to Ran Fan-gets shot-

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**-Melissa-**

I never knew that traveling was so _hard_.

As soon as I opened my eyes,I felt like someone had hit me repeatedly on my head saying,'Welcome back to reality lazy ass !'.

After the explanation of dear Alphonse about our current location,a good hit of a suitcase on Ed's head and more walking, including the entering of Lior City, we found ourselves escorted by a cute girl (around Edward's type) named Rose to where we'll be staying tonight. Thinking about tonight just after I fell asleep was suddenly dropping my mood and slowing down my walking.

Even with a slight bark of 'I'm not short' coming from Ed and him picking up speed to run after Rose didn't wake me up from my state of somberness.

Apparently, Rose had called Ed short. One of the most important rules of traveling with the Elrics: Don't call the elder Elric short. He might leave you in,let's say for example the desert from earlier. Yeah. Like that. All alone.

I was starting to regret not finishing my mission from Maes. I let out a small sigh,following reluctantly Edward chasing after her with Al by my side.

"Melissa?" My eye twitched as I heard his voice. I really didn't want to talk to anyone right now. I licked my lips and stared up at him with a placid look. Alphonse...hasn't really changed over the years, and I'm talking about being a soul trapped in a large armor that still creeped the hell out of me.

It wasn't that I didn't like him -Al was my brotha from anotha motha-, I really loved him so. It's just that...I still had a little difficulty getting used to seeing him, or his _soul _in such a situation. In a more vague way to say it, I always think I'm dreaming when seeing his condition or Ed's.

I pretended to cough before he continued. Being polite,he waited until he realized I started running after Edward towards a large church.

"Wait-Melissa!"

I silently apologized to Al before picking up speed. But the chase didn't end long, for I got tired easily and stopped. Al caught after me, silence installing since Ed had finally calmed down.

We had entered the church,finding ourselves in the interior while following Rose and looking around like little children. I squinted my eyes, because the light of the sun was gone and we were now walking in a corridor which was very lightly dimmed. Statues of fantastic creatures decorated the hallways, statues of lions and anything you could call intimidating and noble.

I couldn't see the expression of Edward's face, but I was sure he had a calculating look on his face, investigating everything his eyes fell on. For a second there, I'm sure he was looking at Rose's ass. In a more appropriate way, her silhouette.

Ah, youth!

I shot a look at Al, since other than our footsteps, he was the one making the most noise, but I couldn't blame him. I caught his attention, and smiled a sorry smile.

"I don't really feel like talking right now, but you can ask me what you wanted to say tomorrow,ok?" I whispered,also getting attention from Ed infront of us. His amber eyes met my green ones, and I quickly looked at the floor as a reflex.

"What are you two talking about?" he asked quite loudly. I glared up at him, or _down _at him. I was a few inches taller than him,he didn't even pass my cheek. Quickly, _He_ returned the glare and grabbed Alphonse's arm,pulling him away from me and walking away.

This was going to be a long trip.

Several minutes later, Rose had presented our rooms: One for Ed and Al, the other for myself. Inside my own,I installed myself on the small bed given and released a long, aggravated sigh. It was already less than a day and I was so frustrated. Being around Ed and Al was shortening my temper, making me less calm than I was.

I rested my head in my palms. When I was mad, my breathing tended to quicken and my mind turn blurry. Just like it did to everyone, but I wasn't used to those symptoms. I wasn't a temper-person.

No wonder my state alchemist name had to do with my coldness.

Regaining my state of calmness, I removed myself from my bed and walked over to a door, entering it, I found a bathroom that would tend to what I need right now: a shower.

The bathroom and the room itself weren't the luxe I was accustomed to, now being a state alchemist, but it reminded me of where I came from...a bit.

I discarded my clothing and accessories: A skirt and long sleeved shirt with my cloak, all black, and my boots, also black. My goggles that hung around my neck, my gloves, everything.

I sent a look towards the large mirror that was near the toilet (who ever had the idea to put such a large mirror near a toilet was deranged in a way) seeing my reflection stare right back at me.

Even without my clothes, I could still feel the heat of my sun on my skin, which gave a good feeling of warmth. My reflection gave off the same grin that I had on right now, that seemed to brighten my features.

I directly faced the mirror, my grin never fading.

I was quite proud of my appearance, green-grayish eyes hidden behind dark bangs. Over the years I allowed my hair to grow, and was satisfied with the result seeing how long it has grown past my shoulders. My image gave me a feeling a nostalgia, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

I shrugged the feeling away and entered the shower.

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**A/N**: Hum, I was supposed to show her _cool _personality during this chapter. -FAILED-

Anyway, before all the goofy romance scenes and such, I'm trying to develop and really make her fit into the whole universe of Full Metal Alchemist so that I won't change the story. AGAIN.

Hope you enjoyed ! Please look forward to the next one.


	4. Her Hurt Look

I want to thank MizAb for her review that will help me improve my story. As you see, this chapter is longer than the others and the next one will be even longer...-stupid laughter- XD Sorry, I'm just in a good mood since I finally learned the Hare Hare Yukai from the SOS Brigade and the O Kuru at the Japan Expo !

I also took a picture of a cosplay of Edward next to Alphonse... LOL. _ And I'm addicted to Kanda/Lavi, even if I preferred Kanda/Allen before.

Disclaimer: Like most fans of Full Metal Alchemist, I do not own the wonderful creation known as Full Metal Alchemist. If I had the chance to own such a thing, Ranfan would be with Edwar-gets shot-

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**-3rd Point-**

Alphonse could only watch in awe as the girl beside him finished her milk in one gulp.

"You were...that thirsty, were you?" He finally managed to ask without sounding at all surprised. As a reply, Melissa quickly nodded and served herself another glass of milk while Ed looked at her in disgust from across the table, engaged in his own breakfast.

Finishing another glass of milk in one gulp, she answered with a smiling face, "I haven't drank anything since yesterday, so my throat is completely dry- she served herself another glass- and since it's milk, I tend to drink more than I should."

"..."

Alphonse didn't really comprehend what she just said, but went with it: It was early morning after all.

The three teenagers were enjoying breakfast in the room given to Ed and Al by Rose yesterday. Melissa, being the first to wake up (other than Alphonse), entered their the room, and chatted with the youngest Elric until Edward finally woke up.

The said boy hasn't slept much and seemed to be in a grouchy mood, and the fact he had an uninvited person in his travels wasn't helping his quick temper.

While the girl was blabbering about milk, he glanced and frowned deeply at her while muttering himself something about 'disgusting milk'. Melissa had heard and as soon as she met his eyes, he glared at her before standing up -with a small 'I'm done'- and headed to the bathroom.

An awkward silence was installed right after he slammed the door. What a way to ruin the morning already.

The younger Elric turned his head to see Melissa's expression: a hurt one, etching her oriental features. Alphonse, with his experience in girls, was ninety percent sure that she would probably cry or attack Ed. At least, that was what Winry would do.

"Why the hell is he pissed off at me?" She closed her eyes and left her half-finished glass next to Edward's plate. "It's not my fault I'm with you guys." Angrily, she crossed her arms, opened her green eyes, and focused on mentally burning the bathroom door.

Silence. Well, it was better than the awkward one from before.

Alphonse sighed at his brother's attitude before turning back towards Melissa."Don't worry about Nii-san, he hasn't slept enough last night and is a little more grouchier than usual-"

Melissa stood up, interrupting Al from his sentence.

"Melissa?"

"The idiot." she muttered darkly before leaving the room. And also slamming the door.

Being the only one not in a angry mood, Alphonse restrained himself from face-palming. "The _idiots_." he muttered himself.

It didn't even take ten minutes for Al to find Melissa. When he was passing through the hallways of the church he spotted her at the cemetery, where he had found Rose yesterday.

The figure of the dark-haired girl sat in front of a small grave that reminded Alphonse of the similar graves in Resembool. The whole graveyard did. Or were all the graveyards alike to him?

"Melissa-chan." he called out to her. At the sound of his voice, Melissa slumped her shoulders, and glanced at him behind her back, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"What...?" she drawled out.

Alphonse smiled inwardly. Fortunately for him, she wasn't mad enough _not _to talk with him.

His body took a step forward and continued to walk until he was beside her.

"You told me I can talk to you today." he reminded her of the small conversation cut short by her running away yesterday. He sweatdropped at the memory, and sat on the ground.

"Hm." Melissa replied, biting her lip. Al knew that even if she had said so, she wasn't comfortable with the idea of answering his questions. If he knew, Ed would probably force the answer out of him (or her) sooner of later. That was the reason why she evaded being _too _alone with them. It was obvious like glass.

In her point of view, she knew she couldn't help it. They were still her friends: The same boys she used to know in her childhood. If they told her their darkest secret, they also had the right to know hers.

_'Damn equivalent exchange'. _She thought. After a small moment of thinking it out, she opened her mouth.

"I'll answer what you want on one condition: Don't tell Edward." She said.

"You don't want him to know? Why?"

Melissa's smile widened. "He'll try to beat his commander to death. Or strangle my grandfather." she shrugged, "Maybe both."

Alphonse found himself hesitating, but shook it off as soon as it came. "Alright. Tell me why you became a State Alchemist, then."

With a last smile, she began.

Edward ran quickly pass the hallways of the church, searching for his brother that had disappeared a few hours ago while he was taking a shower. As for the other girl, well, he didn't care much. He just wanted to find Alphonse.

"Al?" he called. "Al, where are you?" Ed had overheard that this Cornello priest had a show of his in a few minutes, and Ed had decided to take a look at what that man really was. Maybe...just maybe...there was a high possibility that this man...

Excitement and Impatience was entering Edward's system quickly. He had to hurry. Where _was _Al?

The alchemist's amber eyes fell on the sight outside. Alphonse was over there, sitting in the graveyard with Melissa.

A mixture of relief and irritation flashed through the boy's face. He found Alphonse at last, but with all the luck, he had to be with _her._

Edward sighed, resting his hands on his hips. He was still a bit angry from what happened two days ago, and hadn't digested the problem yet of having a third wheel slowing him down. And as he thought of it more, it...

... Really wasn't her fault she was with them.

But...

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand.

Why and how did she become a state alchemist? The same little girl who grew up with them. She didn't lose something, nor had nothing to search for. She wasn't like them, so why?

The army wasted another bright life. And a part of this was her fault for accepting to sign her own devil's contact.

"Nii-san!" He heard. Burying those thoughts for later, Ed maintained his serious look while Alphonse and Melissa walked over to him.

"What are you doing here?" Al asked, facing his brother.

"I came to look for you. That priest is having a miracle show of his in a few minutes and-"

"Can I come with?" Melissa had cut off with a rather innocent look.

"No. You're staying here." Ed said rather coldly and firmly. No way was he getting her involved in this.

Her look changed from innocent to shock to annoyance. "Hey, you can't order me around ! Let me remind you that I'm in the same position as you are-"

Ed had cut her off as she did before. "As I am? Even so, I have much more experience than you AND that bastard of a superior told me to look after you. Do you have any idea what you're getting into?"

"Of course I do. That's why I'm a state alchemist, right?" sparks flew from their intense stare-down as green met gold.

"Nii-san," Al came in between the two," let her come with us. She won't be of much trouble, alright?"

At the end of his sentence, Melissa and he both seemed to exchange secret glances.

Ed couldn't believe this. "Al? Whose side are you on?"

"Yours, of course."

**-Melissa-**

_BORING_. I puffed out my lips and played with my face, pinching my cheeks until it hurt. Why, you ask?

'Cuz I had nothing better to do.

It was already afternoon and near the church, the famous priest Cornello was showing off his alchemy by transmuting everything he could touch. At every transmutation, the large crowd in front of us was going wild, similar to a group of fans cheering on their favorite movie star.

Ed, Al and I were at the _wayyyy_ back, watching from the shadows the crowd getting crazy-Ed and Al were- and I had my back turned, contenting myself on analyzing the brownish buildings of Lior from my position behind Ed's suitcase.

"Oh, it's you three. What do you think of Cornello-sama's miracles?" Rose appeared out of nowhere with a beautiful smile that would rival Pinako's.

What the _heck_ was I saying? Must be the sun...

"Not watching..." I muttered, looking away from her and going on back to my business. I soon got bored, and started leaning my head on Edward's legs, waiting for some sort of reaction that would either make me laugh or mad.

They ignored me. "That is definitely alchemy." said the 15 year old genius. "Cornello is just a fraud." he added with a hint of pride in his voice. I think he was acting like that because he was on his suitcase which made him second tallest next to Al.

Rose made a aggravated sound and Al jumped in to save the day by correcting Ed's attitude. "We're not entirely sure yet. Also, he does ignore some laws."

"Laws?" she asked.

Ed jumped off the suitcase, much to my dismay. I stood up and took his place by sitting where he stood just before.

"Alchemy cannot create something from nothing."

A long moment passed and we found ourselves back in the church, after Cornello's performance. Rose came along with us, possibly thinking about the whole law of alchemy that Ed and Al explained to her.

Thanks to Al, I knew a little more about the mystery surrounding Rose- why she was so faithful to Cornello. A while ago, she lost her boyfriend in a accident. And seeing that she had no family either, it wasn't a surprise that she turned towards Cornello.

It was such a pity, and so familiar-

"Are you guys a couple?" Rose questioned us suddenly.

Al had excused himself for an unknown reason a while ago, leaving only us three. I was standing near Rose, a heavy blush appearing on my cheeks.

"Of course not." but my expression close to a ten year old schoolgirl betrayed how uncomfortable I was with the question. I wanted to add that I never had a boyfriend and the genius was far from being it, but I kept those thoughts to myself. I was already shamed enough with that question.

"_Loser_." I heard Ed say teasingly.

"Shut it, pipsqueak." I had violated one of the laws of traveling with the Elrics: Don't call Edward short or anything close to that forbidden word.

"**WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT I NEED TEN ENCYCLOPEDIAS TO CLIMB INTO BED**?" He barked, irrupting the once tense atmosphere.

Rose giggled as I rolled my eyes at him, somewhat relieved that our relation seemed to get back on the track after our not-so-good reunion.

"Rose." I spoke up, earning her attention. "Do you really believe in Leto?" I wasn't one to toy with people's different religions, but it was obvious that Cornello was a fraud- if you knew alchemy, that is.

She gave me a hard look. "I believe. And why do you not?" **Oh**, so I'm the guilty one.

"If you serve god without question...Will the dead come back to life eventually?" Ed questioned, adding pressure. Rose's look only hardened before turning around to face Ed.

"Yes !" she answered with a bright smile.

Edward could only sigh at her naivety. I frowned, tucking a lock of mine behind my ear. For someone so desperate, God was the only answer. I could understand her from my point of view.

"Water, 35 liters. Carbon, 20kg. Ammonia 4 liters. Lime, 1.5 kg. Phosphorus, 800g."

My hands were clasped together in an attempt to stay calm. Ed was being a brute again.

"Salt, 250 g. Niter, 100 g. Sulfur, 80g. Fluorine, 7.5 g. Iron, 5 g. Silicon, 3 g. And 15 other elements."

"What's that list of?"

"Those are the elements to make an average human adult body. Current science knows this much, but there has not been a successful case of artificially creating a human body. Scientists have researched for what was missing for the past few hundred years..." Edward's voice faded out and the scene seemed to transform before my eyes.

I was greeted with total darkness. And even if I didn't know why I heck I did...But I had fainted.

**A/N : **Hm. What an abrupt ending. _ I didn't know how to finish it, so I did it so. Edward is seen like the frustrated type and Alphonse like the understanding type in Melissa's eyes.

In this chapter, I wanted to express Edward's emotions on how he was forced to have a friend of his involved in the story he didn't want anyone to get in. So if you see him more as an Melissa hater than a frustrated friend, I haven't done my job well.

Well, today I don't have much to say. I've had a tiring day and my legs still hurt from too much dancing (and they hurt since last Sunday !) ;P


	5. Her Frustrated Look

_I was engulfed with the warm embrace of my grandfather and shivered as he quickly pulled away from me. The warmth he left was suddenly gone.__  
_  
"Grandpa_?" I asked, staring up into his eyes: they were a wonderful grayish silver, with a hint a blue. __I had always wanted eyes like that, but I was stuck with green instead._

_He smiled warmly at me. _

"I'm proud of you, my little genius." _he spoke, and with a large hand, brought me over the dining room where a large cake and a lot of familiar faces were waiting. __A large banner with _'HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELISSA' _written on it was hanging on the ceiling._

_Before I even registered what was happening-__  
_  
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" _A blur of red tackled me, sending the person and I to the floor. The person was laughing, along with the rest of the people in the room._

_It was Emily, my closest friend. She pulled away from me, giving me the brightest of smiles, her red hair falling gracefully back into place. "Congrats also on passing your state alchemist exam!" She exclaimed, before laughing again once more._

_I reached out to hug her...__  
_

**Darkness.**

Green eyes flew open in the darkness that was the interior of Alphonse's armor.  
Melissa, after quickly collecting her thoughts and noticing that she was in an unfamiliar (and tiny) place, immediately banged her fists on the metal surface, trying to find a way out.

She got a better reaction.

"Melissa," the voice of the younger Elric echoed inside of the armor, "It's me, Alphonse. Just stay still a moment okay?"

"Al?" she called out in a surprised tone. "Where are you?"

"You're inside of me."

Melissa ignored the pun that came up in her mind and complied to what the younger Elric commanded. _It's logical that it's him_, _his voice is echoing in the armor anyway._

Her nose scrunched up in frustration.

_I keep forgetting he's a__ suit of armor_.

The alchemist searched a comfortable position while waiting for Alphonse's next orders.  
For now, her eyes were plunged into the darkness of the armor and her body slightly moved along with Alphonse's indiscreet steps. With the little information from Al and the absence of any other sounds outside, she clearly had no idea what he was doing at the moment.

She wondered if Edward was by their side, since she didn't hear his voice.

The last time she saw the state alchemist was when he was talking to Rose.

After that...she fainted for an unknown reason.

The adolescent frowned at that. Why did she faint? In her opinion she had wonderfully eaten and hadn't been outside or under the hot sun at the time, either.

Melissa sensed that Edward would be getting all over her.

"It isn't my fault." she muttered childlessly by herself.

Around a few minutes later, Alphonse addressed her.  
"I'm letting you out, okay?"

"Yeah."

The chest of the armor opened and Melissa was greeted with bright light and the warmth gathered in the armor escaping from where she was.

Getting out, she was presented to Rose, who stared at her in shock, perhaps because of the fact that she had come out of a talking suit of armor.

Melissa, searching quickly for Ed with her eyes, shrugged once she confirmed Ed wasn't here and began to stretch her back. "Al, where are we?" She wanted to ask where Ed was first, but refrained.

"We're on the church's roof."

"Say what?" She turned to face him with an expression demanding answers.

"Before answering that," Alphonse started, unfazed by her look. He rested his arms on his hips, "Why did you faint? If-"

"I don't know. I have no idea why and this is the first time it's ever happened." Impatience ran through her system, "Can you now please tell me what happened?"

" Did you faint from shock?" Rose started. With Melissa's eyes boring into her, she squirmed uncomfortably.

"No. It wasn't that." Melissa waved her hand infront of her face as if to change the subject right away, which was her objective.

"We'll find out later. Now tell me what happened when I was out."

"I'll explain it to you while doing this." Alphonse pointed to a giant bell with wires surrounding it.

* * *

Rose stared on helplessly at the two infront of her, arranging wires to the left and right and at the same time discussing about the accident earlier.

Having recently been close to death's grips because of Father Cornello, she was still in a state of shock.  
And sadness, since she now truly realized that the boy she once loved was never coming back. Her raison d'être was gone. Just like that.

It was all thanks to those outsiders that couldn't accept her town's way of life.

Her purple eyes fell on Alphonse's back. How can a armor walk and talk?  
And his brother, the short one with metal limbs? How was all of this possible?

_"We payed a heavy sacrifice." Alphonse told her while carrying the unconscious Melissa that fainted earlier._

_"Edward, too?"_

_The said alchemist had his back turned to them, surely looking at the knocked out man infront of him._

_"Yes." Al answered._

Rose's fists tightened.

"You get too close to the sun, your wings burn, and you plummet to the ground."

Coming back to reality, Alphonse signaled her to come and join him.  
"Just you listen."

A loud noise came out from the bell Al was holding. A small moment later, two voices she recognized were talking.

It was Edward...!

Melissa's look mirrored Rose's. "It works!" she grinned, pumping her fist.

The serious conversation -held by Cornello, who was yakking on about domination- was soon ended by his scream of rage and weapon sounds that cut off the radio.

Melissa blinked, removing her hands from her ears. "Was that a good thing?" She paled. "What happened to Ed?"

"Yeah." Alphonse descended the bell from his position on the rail and faced both girls that were behind him. "Let's go meet up with Brother."

* * *

_I was starting to wonder if it was a good thing or a bad thing to leave things like this, now that I'm traveling with the brothers. After leaving Lior in such a messy state, I'm afraid of what dam__ages we caused to the people there. _

"Rose..." Alphonse murmured.

"Who am I going to follow now?" Rose screamed, tears falling down her tan cheeks. "Tell me!"

Melissa's face scrunched up in pain. How horribly painful it was to see this.  
She understood a bit of Rose's trouble, and regretted having even set foot on Lior.

Were these the possible consequences of being a National Alchemist? Being hated by others for what you were ordered to do?

Horrible.

"Stand up and walk. You at least have two legs. Follow your own path."

The boy that had spoken, Edward, clearly in a foul mood, walked away from her.

Alphonse walked up to give her words of explanation, but she simply turned her head away, refusing to acknowledge it.

Melissa, who was quietly following Edward, stopped in her tracks to run back to Rose.

As guessed, Rose didn't face her, either.

Green eyes scanned the other's form, before Melissa spotted an deep cut from Rose's hand: A cut that possibly happened earlier when Al saved her.

"Please excuse me." Without waiting for a response, the alchemist took Rose's hand in hers and raised her free hand over the wounded one.

A hand-made bracelet that was around her wrist glowed a purple color and in an instant, the cut was healed.

Rose pulled away her hand to stare at it in surprise.

Melissa allowed herself a small smile. "I'm an alchemist who's specialized in medical treatment. It's the least I can do."

Standing up, she nodded at Rose. "I'm...very sorry. Good-bye, Ms. Rose."

With that, the dark-haired girl ran to catch up with the brothers.

* * *

"You're not going to keep that long face for forever, are you?" the blond alchemist said, chewing on the remaining dango he bought.

Melissa crossed her arms, glaring at the small alchemist standing next to her.

"Of course, since you're still not telling me why we're in Aquaroya, of all places." she replied to him.

"Please, don't start both of you." Alphonse cut in between the both of them, resting his hands on both of their shoulders.

In reply, Melissa sighed longingly, massaging the sides of her forehead. It was already starting to get very tiring for her to even be around Edward.

Right now they were at the station of the famous Aquaroya, known for its tourism and wonderful sights.

But they didn't have the time to go to some town while they had to go to East City. The mail she was supposed to personally send to Mustang was already getting a few days old. For some stupid reason, Edward had decided to stop here, bringing his brother and her along with him.

"Then please explain to me, Alphonse."

"Well...um..." the poor boy failed to explain himself, and dropped the conversation with a sigh. Feeling rather confused, he looked at the departing train they had descended earlier before addressing his brother.

"So, it is really alright for us to get off the train before our destination, Brother?"

"It's fine," Ed waved off Alphonse's question, "We don't know where we'll get information on the Philosopher's Stone, and Aquroya's a tourist spot. It can't hurt to take a look."

Melissa's cheek twitched upwards in anger. Suddenly furious, she faced him, glaring daggers.

"Wait just a moment. You, want to stop here, of all places, to find out about that stone?"

Edward eyed her with a blunt look.  
"Uh...yeah." he said in pure sarcasm.

"Do you even know who you're traveling with?"

"Yep. My brother and a loser."

Unfazed by that comment, the girl continued to bark at him.  
"Ruin your own job! Don't forget I just started!"

"It does feel like we're cheating and skipping school." Al chimed in behind Ed, who had diverted his attention to the large touristic signs above the station.

Finishing his last dango with a swift bite, Edward faced Al with a priceless expression on his face.

"Who are you calling a cheater..." his voice trailed off once the sound of cardboard touching ground was heard.

On the floor seemed to be copies of poker cards that Edward had apparently used for cheating.

Indifferent, Melissa rose her head to stare down at the panicked boy.

"Idiot."

"What was that?"

Edward gritted his teeth and exchanged dark looks with the latter while Alphonse bent down to gather up the cards.

Red eyes almost popping out in surprise, Alphonse exclaimed:  
"What are those? Brother, did you-"

"Ouf!" released an unlucky Melissa who quickly found herself on her butt. Behind her, a sprinting alchemist was already far away from them.

"Brother/Edward !" the remaining two yelled at the retrieving form.

Alphonse regained his composure to run off after his brother, leaving the girl by herself.

"Hey~! Don't leave me here!"


End file.
